


Stars and Crossroads

by fragilelittleteacup



Category: Adam (2009), Elementary (TV), Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Autism, Crossover, Drabble, Gen, M/M, Understanding, this may have more chapters but who knows
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-11
Updated: 2016-11-11
Packaged: 2018-08-30 09:20:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8527636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fragilelittleteacup/pseuds/fragilelittleteacup
Summary: Adam consults, occasionally, for Sherlock Holmes. It helps him socialise, and pays well.But, this time, he wants something different in return for his knowledge.





	

He stared at the star chart in front of him with all the wonder and fascination of a child. He had the body of a man, well-dressed and lean, with a strong jaw, dark curls of hair, and noticeably feminine eyes. But his skin was pale and flawless from days spent inside, and his hair was combed immaculately, and the apartment room around him was arranged with meticulous tidiness. A Mac computer sat before him, plugged into the wall, displaying a complex article on astrophysics.

“You can sit on the bed,” Adam told Sherlock bluntly without looking up. Sherlock entered the room slowly, and was pleased when Adam kept his eyes on his work. That meant Adam trusted him enough not to watch his every move. He sat, on Adam’s grey bed, in his grey room, and waited.

The quiet was comfortable. The degree of Adam’s Asperger’s Syndrome meant that he did not feel the need to fill silences. This, consequentially, meant that Sherlock rather enjoyed being in his company.

Sherlock had never met Adam’s brother, Will Graham, but had heard his name many times. Everyone in America had. The FBI Special Agent who had gone mad when he failed to identify and catch the Chesapeake Ripper. His brother, Adam Raki, had remained largely undisturbed by the press; they’d gotten the message rather quickly, that he was not only unable to talk, but also had an inability to deal with the situation. Rather than bother the Autistic brother, they’d used his condition as ammunition against Will Graham, saying that mental instability was in his blood. Will had disappeared from America, into the depths of Europe, where the press could no longer find him- unfortunately, neither could his twin. And Adam had loved his brother, in his own way. In a way that few people seemed to understand.

Adam was one of Sherlock’s regular irregulars. His IT and space consultant. Sherlock would’ve preferred that Adam also be his hacking specialist, but he understood Adam’s limits. He had to slot himself into Adam’s routine, or his carefully constructed life would collapse. The 11th precinct would be too uncontrolled, too unpredictable. Adam would break down within seconds. Sherlock would not be responsible for that.

Adam closed his Mac, lifted it, took it to a specific place on one of his shelves. Then, he returned to his desk, folded the star map carefully, placed it in a folder, and sat back down in his chair. He did all this with ease, and when he looked at Sherlock, he looked into his eyes. He knew he was safe. Sherlock felt very complimented.

“Do you want to know about space?”

“Yes.’ Sherlock had a drawing of stars concealed under his jacket, but he knew better than to just pull it out and shove it in Adam’s hands. He needed to introduce it into the conversation first. “I have a drawing of stars here. I’d like you to identify any astrologically significant constellations or stars. Or anything, really.”

Adam nodded. Sherlock pulled out the drawing and held it forward. Adam took it and laid it out on his desk. He looked intently at it, and fell silent again.

“This,” Adam pointed a white finger at the paper, “, this is Sirius. The brightest star in the night sky. Known as the dog star. And here,”, his finger moved across the page, “, is [Epsilon Canis Majoris](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epsilon_Canis_Majoris), also called Adhara. Another bright star. They’re part of Canis Major. A constellation in the southern celestial hemisphere. Here.” He moved his hand in a pattern. “The Milky Way passes through this constellation. “

“Is there anything else you can tell me?”

“Yes.” Adam waited.

“Please do.”

“The first appearance of Canis Major in the dawn sky comes in late summer. Its name is Latin for ‘greater dog’. It contains the yellow-white supergiant Delta at 1.8, the blue-white giant Beta at 2.0, blue-white supergiants [Eta](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eta_Canis_Majoris) at 2.4 and [Omicron](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omicron1_Canis_Majoris) at 3.0, and white spectroscopic binary [Zeta](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeta_Canis_Majoris), also at 3.0. Delta is also called Wezen, Beta is also called Mirzam, Eta is also called Aludra, Zeta is also called Furud.” He paused, blinking, fingers tapping nervously on the drawing as he realised how long he’d been speaking. “There is more. I could go on. Do you want me to?”

“Yes.”

They sat for a very long time, as Sherlock listened to Adam talk of the stars, of the sky, Ptolemy's 48 constellations. Adam described the nature of stars, the distance, how it affected time, the stars nearest to Earth’s solar system, the stars furthest from it. His voice was monotone, but it increased in pitch as he became excited; a plateau rise in tone, movements of his hands, gesturing to things only he was visualising. Sherlock filed away all the names steadily, retaining all the information. He’d have to test every piece of information; the password for the main suspect’s computer was hidden in this drawing.

Adam’s mind fascinated him, even if it was a psychology standard of most Asperger’s Syndrome Autistics. Adam had the capability to be quite high-functioning, certainly more high-functioning than he currently was, but he’d been raised in an extremely secluded environment, and not encouraged to interact with the world at all.

By contrast, Will Graham had been raised by his father; a boat mechanic who had believed he could raise his son as he could any other child, and introduce him both into the world slowly. Adam Raki had been raised by his mother, who forced her son into a small house, and a small life. Adam could’ve been known and hailed as the genius he was, if he’d been allowed to develop at his own pace, and been given a handhold into the world he now was too terrified to understand.

“…and it exists within the SQ2 quadrant.” Adam finished, nodding to himself, gesturing aimlessly with one hand. “And that’s all the information. I could give you some texts regarding the Canis Major. Do you want that?”

Sherlock doubted there was any information left aside from what Adam had already told him; the shadows in the room were growing longer, and they’d been here over an hour. But, he decided, it would be remiss of him to turn down the chance of extra information.

“Yes, please.”

Adam stood, and went to his bookshelf. He pulled out two books and handed them to Sherlock. “These ones will have more detailed information.”

Sherlock took them. “Thank you.” He went to stand, but Adam held out his hands to stop him. Sherlock sat back on the bed, lowering the books onto his lap. “…Is something wrong, Adam?”

Adam, still standing, hesitated. He took a step back, apparently deciding the distance between them was too small. “Not exactly. Um.” He swallowed, suddenly becoming nervous. He twined his hands in front of him. “I don’t want you to pay me for my consultation.”

Sherlock inclined his chin upwards slightly. “…Oh?”

“I want a favour. I want you to… I want you to give me a consultation.”

This was utterly unexpected. “Regarding what?”

Adam swallowed. “A man. I want you to investigate him.”

Sherlock’s eyes roamed Adam’s posture. He seemed worried, but not in a typical way; in a curious, pent-up way, as if he were excited.

“…And what is his name?”

Adam smiled. It was a wide, unexpected grin, and Sherlock was taken aback by its intensity.

“Nigel. His name is Nigel.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
